


Poison

by Avirra



Series: An Unholy Alliance [18]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: Mirror Universe
Genre: Gen, Mirror Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-18
Updated: 2013-08-18
Packaged: 2017-12-23 09:52:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/924946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avirra/pseuds/Avirra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kirk and McCoy go to the mess for a meal and get more than they asked for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Poison

**Author's Note:**

> As a note, in my version of the Mirror-verse, the emphasis is on political maneuvering and manipulation rather than on violence and sex - though violence and sex are both certainly have their places (nothing overly graphic). Think in terms of more Machiavelli and less Caligula. Some cursing is also present.

McCoy could feel eyes on them as they moved to find a place to sit. Glancing around, he spotted Spock watching them and scowled.

"What's wrong, Bones? Can't be the food, you haven't even tasted it yet."

Sitting down, McCoy stabbed what was purported on the menu to be meatloaf with his fork. "It's that damn hobgoblin again. He keeps turning up so often that I swear one day I'm going to wake up and find him in my bed."

Not seeming terribly concerned about it, Kirk scooped up a mound of mashed potatoes.

"Hm. He's a lieutenant commander and you're a cadet. Would that be trespassing or fraternization?"

"It would be damn annoying is what it would be."

Giving a glare in the direction of the Vulcan, McCoy then turned his attention very deliberately over to Kirk.

"So what about this job for Chekov?"

It took a minute for Kirk to swallow down his mouthful before answering.

"Good question, Bones. Especially since it concerns you."

"Me?"

"Yep. Chekov is going to be your own personal bodyguard whenever I have to be away from campus for classes. He can even use my bed when I'm gone."

Going silent, McCoy cut off a piece of his meatloaf and began to chew it slowly. He couldn't say he was thrilled by the thought, but he also couldn't say that he could think of any reason to argue against it that didn't make it sound like he was being petulant. Swallowing, he finally looked back up to see Kirk studying him.

"What if he doesn't want to, Jim?"

Gesturing with the fork still in his hand, Kirk dismissed that idea.

"Why wouldn't he want to? We should be, like, his two favorite people on campus. Or in the top three if we add in Gaila. And you know Gaila worries about you, so she'll be all for him doing it as well."

"He might not care to have our enemies become his."

"Oh puh-leese, Bones. The guy is cute, brilliant and young. He probably already has more enemies than we do. What's a few more?"

Seeming unconvinced by that argument, McCoy just shrugged. He started to begin eating again, but he stopped with his fork partway up, a frown forming. Then he lowered the fork back down.

"Jim, I need to get back to our room and I might need your help."

Red flags raised, Kirk lowered his own fork and then looked at McCoy's plate.

"Poison?"

"Yeah. Pretty sure. Taste of it was fully covered by the food, but I've got an aftertaste in my mouth that's all wrong. Dammit - I've got to get that food scanner working."

Casually getting up, taking his own and McCoy's tray to dump them into the recyclers, Kirk noticed a fine sweat was already starting to break out on McCoy by the time they reached the door.

"Do we need to hurry?"

"Getting there quicker would be good, but me increasing my heart rate will spread it faster which would be bad."

Kirk glanced back and saw what McCoy was complaining about earlier. Lieutenant Commander Spock had stepped outside after them and was watching, though not approaching. Kirk pulled McCoy to the side so that they would be out of his line of sight and pulled his communicator.

"Your mentor gives you a few helpful privileges - so does mine. Cadet Kirk to Transport Central - authorization Zulu Echo Nine."

"Transport Central. Destination?"

"Dorm room. Two to teleport."

"Stand by."

Not liking the sensation, McCoy shuddered as the beam dissolved, then reformed them inside their dorm room. Kirk took charge immediately.

"Sit. Tell me what to bring you."

"My tricorder and the kit I keep under my bed."

"Right."

He passed McCoy the tricorder before moving to pull the kit from underneath McCoy's bed. By the time, he sat the case down in front of McCoy, the doctor was pale and starting to tremble, but remaining calm.

"Open the case and look for the vial marked glucagon."

Fortunately for both, McCoy kept a methodically tidy kit, so Kirk located the vial in a matter of seconds, following McCoy's directions on loading the hypospray, setting the dosage and finally injecting it.

"Now what, Bones?"

"Now? Get me to the bathroom quick or we'll be having the 'me throwing up on you' issue again."

It proved to be a close call, but Kirk got him into the bathroom before the vomiting began. Several minutes later, McCoy was washing his face. Still pale and shaky, but since he didn't seem worried, Kirk relaxed as well.

"So? What kind of poison was that?"

"Actually, it wasn't one. Not technically anyway. Someone slipped praensulin into my food and dropped my blood sugar like a rock. More likely a ploy to get me taken to the hospital than an assassination attempt."

"Of course, getting you to the hospital might have been the first stage of an assassination attempt."

"True enough. Damn. Now I'm starving."

Now that it was obvious that McCoy was getting better, Kirk started to laugh.

"Do attempted assassinations always whet your appetite?"

Drying his face before leaving the bathroom, McCoy shook his head.

"One of the side effects of my blood sugar tanking. Just like the vomiting was a side effect of the shot you gave me. Somebody's showing a few brains, though. I was lucky. I'd only taken a bite before pausing to talk with you about Chekov. If I'd just been eating normally, I might not have noticed the aftertaste in time. Plus, I'd have gotten more of that shit in my system."

"More would have been worse, I'm guessing?"

"Could have gone into seizures or into a coma, so yeah. Worse. Praensula is a drug that the body treats like insulin. They came up with it because insulin is one of those drugs that you can't take orally. Stomach acids destroy it."

Leaning against the back of one of the chairs, Kirk had a smirk forming as McCoy slowly made his way to the couch.

"So. No more arguments about a bodyguard?"

Exasperated, but resigned, McCoy flopped down onto the couch.

"You can talk the kid into it, I won't argue it."

"By the way, your favorite Vulcan followed us out of the mess area. I see what you mean. It's kind of that that old horror movie where this doll keeps turning up everywhere the person looks and it's always staring at them."

McCoy turned his head toward Kirk a bit too quickly - which he immediately regretted as he held onto his head to rein in the nausea.

"Damn. You think he might have had something to do with this?"

"Hard to say, but I find it hard to believe that it would bother him much if one or both of us were taken down."

"Pike wouldn't be too happy about finding that out about his pet Vulcan. You plan to mention it to him?"

"Nope. That feels too much like admitting a weakness. Asking him to fight our battles, I mean."

After a moment's consideration, McCoy sighed and nodded.

"Yeah. You're right, it does. So where do we go from here?"

"First? You get cleaned up and we go off campus to eat. Second - you said something about a food scanner?"

"Yeah. I'm still work the kinks out of it. I've got the basics, but I wouldn't bet my life on its accuracy yet."

"I'm guessing that the biggest holdup is the funds for the parts to experiment with?"

"Good guess. I could also use some better tools than what I've got, but the pay we get as cadets doesn't stretch very far. Least we get paid tomorrow and I can see what I can do with that."

"I could find you sponsors, you know. Folks that would underwrite the cost for access to the technology."

"Bad idea, I'm afraid. Saw that happen with my father. Folks put in money, then they want a quick return. I'll figure out how to make it work, but there's not timetable on that sort of thing, Jim. I might have it working by next week or it might take me another year."

Fishing out the scanner he had already made, McCoy nodded toward it, pleased to note that the last of the nausea was fading away.

"From first concept to my first working model? Two years. And I've made improvements to it since then, so you can add two more years for getting it to where it is today."

"What if that rush for results was removed from the equation?"

"Well . . . yeah, sure. That would be ideal, but not exactly how these things usually work, Jim."

"Maybe, but let's not concern ourselves over how things usually work, Bones. It's not like we tend to do things the usual way, after all. Get changed. We're both hungry and I have some thinking to do. I'll comm Gaila and Chekov to see if they'd like to come along as well."

Getting up to go grab some clothes to take into the bathroom, McCoy gave a shrug.

"If you're serious about him becoming my bodyguard -"

"I am."

"- then I guess I need to get used to him being around. But I told him to get some rest."

"If he's too tired to tag along, fine. But I'm betting he's still got adrenaline going from earlier."

"Sure. Whatever you want, Jim."

As McCoy went to change, Kirk reached for his communicator and smiled as he repeated McCoy's words. Whatever he wanted. He rather liked the sound of that.


End file.
